Actions

Trump: Those who demonstrate during the national anthem 'maybe shouldn't be in the country'

Getty Images

By:
Alex Hider

Posted at 7:20 AM, May 24, 2018

and last updated2018-05-24 07:20:50-04

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, President Trump suggested those who don't stand for the national anthem "maybe ... shouldn't be in the country."

The interview, which was taped just moments after the NFL adopted new rules that allows the league to fine individual teams and allows players to remain in the locker room for the pregame ceremony, aired for the first time Thursday morning.

"I don't think people should be staying in locker rooms, but still, it's good," Trump said of the NFL's new rules. "You have to stand proudly for the national anthem, or you shouldn't be playing. You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country. You have to stand proudly for the national anthem, and the NFL owners have done the right thing."

Trump disparaged the league and individual players for demonstrating during the anthem, most notably at a rally in Alabama last September when he referred to former QB Colin Kaepernick as a "son of a b****."

"You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem. You shouldn't be playing, you shouldn't be there. Maybe they shouldn't be in the country...the NFL owners did the right thing" -President @realDonaldTrumppic.twitter.com/bt36t4EX5u